Campaign Launch

posted by Melissa Skipworth | 74sc
February 21, 2017

February 9th, 2016

Melissa Skipworth is pleased to announce her candidacy for College of the Mainland Board of Trustees Position 5. Melissa is a resident of Dickinson and serves on the Bentwood at Bay Colony Home Owner’s Association. Melissa holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Management from the University of Houston and is currently employed at Grant Thornton LLP as a Resource Manager. Melissa has also worked for Deloitte and previously worked as an in-house corporate recruiter for several healthcare IT companies.

This year, Melissa and her husband Sean will celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary and they recently celebrated the 5th birthday of their son Christopher. Like many of her neighbors, Melissa is concerned that College of the Mainland, a vital community resource, has lost the community’s trust.

“For many years, College of the Mainland has provided countless students wth the opportunity to receive a first class education and enter the workforce with the skills needed to succeed. Unfortunately, this opportunity is now at risk. College of the Mainland’s facilities are aging rapidly and the college is in desperate need of a bond to update the campus. However, the lack of public trust makes this impossible. A lack of transparency has harmed the reputation of the college and has made it clear that new leadership is needed.”

“As a trustee it will be my mission to restore public trust. This begins with ensuring that the board actively seeks out community input. There are many concrete steps the board could take to accomplish this. Board of Trustee meetings are often held during the workday and this makes it difficult for working people, like me, to attend. A simple change would be to hold board meetings in the evenings to allow the community the chance to attend.”

Melissa will also propose that the board require a waiting period before votes are held on matters such as spending or significant policy changes. This would allow time for meaningful public comment.

“There are certainly other actions the college could take to repair it’s relationship with the community. I look forward to working with COM’s incoming president, Dr. Nichols, and the other trustees to earn the community’s trust.”

“College of the Mainland recently celebrated 50 years of serving the community, but it requires community support. Regaining the public’s trust will require time and hard work, but it isn’t complicated. If the board listens to the community’s stakeholders and keeps the good of the college in focus I have no doubt we can earn the trust of the community again. All that’s required is to do what’s right. I look forward to meeting with the community in the coming months and discussing the future of the college. Together we can ensure College of the Mainland serves the community for the next 50 years and beyond.”

For more information please contact the campaign at melissaforcom@gmail.com